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from Vanderbilt to Penn State, but it un- derwent major changes this past off- season, and all of those moves seemed to work out, even the ones that were forced on him by circumstances. The Lions didn't want to see defensive coordinator Bob Shoop make a lateral move to Ten- nessee, but despite major personnel losses and a gruesome string of injuries, the defense held up pretty well under Shoop's successor, Brent Pry. Promoted from his role as linebackers coach, Pry has helped the Lions rank fifth in the Big Ten in total defense at 352 yards per game. (The Volunteers, meanwhile, gave up 536 yards per game in Southeastern Conference play, the most in school his- tory.) On offense, first-year coordinator Joe Moorhead spearheaded a resurgence that enabled the Nittany Lions to better their scoring average by nearly 15 points over their 21.9-point average during John Donovan's two seasons in charge. The improvement was partly due to the maturation of the team's skill position players and an infusion of young talent on the offensive line. But Moorhead taught them a new offensive system during the off-season and got Trace McSorley, a redshirt sophomore with no previous starting experience at Penn State, to run it with verve and preci- sion. The Lions also hired a new offensive line coach in Matt Limegrover and a new safeties coach in Tim Banks during the past off-season, and Franklin has been quick to cite their roles in the program's success. And for all the contributions the staff and players have made this sea- son, he sees his team as part of a much larger phenomenon. "I know I'm biased, but I believe the game of football has the ability to bring a community together like nothing else," he said. "It really has a huge impact on campuses, a huge impact on communi- ties, states." That became clear a few days after Penn State wrapped up its regular sea- son with a 45-12 victory over Michigan State to clinch the Big Ten East Division title. It was 11:30 p.m., and the staff had just finished watching tape and was heading home. Someone mentioned that a group of students were camping out for tickets to the Big Ten Championship Game. Many of those students had been huddling in the cold for more than a day, so Franklin decided to pay them a visit. "I went up to the first tent right out- side the door, right outside the ticket office," he said. "I wanted to go in there and thank them for their support, tell them to make sure they had enough blankets so they could stay warm and not get sick, and told them this was no A W A R D W A T C H James Franklin wasn't the only Penn Stater to be honored by the confer- ence following the end of the regular season. Sophomore running back Saquon Barkley was recognized as the Graham-George Big Ten O9ensive Player of the Year and the Ameche-Dayne Big Ten Running Back of the Year. Barkley was also named to the All-Big Ten 8rst-team squad by the coaches and media, which made him a unanimous 8rst-team choice. He was later named a second-team Sporting News All-American, becoming the 8rst Penn State running back to garner All-America honors since Larry Johnson re- ceived 8rst-team recognition in 2002. He's the 8rst Nittany Lion o9ensive player to be named an All-American since 2013, when Allen Robinson (8rst team) and John Urschel (third team) were saluted. He also was named a third- team All-American by The Associated Press and shared the Chicago Tribune Silver Football award with Ohio State quarterback J.T. Barrett. The award goes to the Big Ten's Most Valuable Player. And at the Nittany Lions' team banquet earlier this month, Barkley was named their MVP. Sophomore quarterback Trace McSorley garnered second-team All-Big Ten accolades from both the coaches and the media and was named O9ensive MVP at the Lions' banquet. Tight end Mike Gesicki was a second-team All- Big Ten selection by the media and an honorable mention pick by the coaches. Joining Barkley, McSorley and Gesicki as postseason honorees were wide re- ceiver Chris Godwin and center Brian Gaia. Godwin was a third-team All- Big Ten honoree for the media and honorable mention for the coaches, while Gaia made the honorable mention list for the coaches and media. Addition- ally, kicker Tyler Davis was selected to the All-Big Ten 8rst team by the coaches and second team by the media. Defensive end Garrett Sickels gar- nered second-team All-Big Ten accolades from the coaches and third-team honors from the media, and won Penn State's Defensive MVP award at the banquet. His fellow defensive end Evan Schwan was selected to the All-Big Ten third team by both the coaches and media, while linebacker Jason Cabinda and safety Marcus Allen both claimed third-team honors from the coaches and were named to the media's honorable mention team. Also on the Big Ten honorable mention squad were senior linebacker Brandon Bell, true freshman punter Blake Gillikin, junior defensive tackle Parker Cothren and sophomore cornerback John Reid. Senior long snapper Tyler Yazujian earned a spot on the 8rst-team CoSIDA Academic All-America squad a:er an appearance on the second team a year ago. Yazujian is the 16th student-athlete in Penn State history to be a two- time Academic All-American. His Academic All-America honor is the 65th for Nittany Lions, which ranks second in Division I football history (FBS and FCS). Overall, Penn State has 194 Academic All-Americans, which ranks 8:h among all schools at all levels and fourth among Division I institutions.

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